Senator Collins Meets with William S. Cohen Early College Program Students

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Orono, ME — U.S. Senator Susan Collins met with 20 students involved in the William S. Cohen Early College Program at the University of Maine. This is the first year that the Cohen Institute hosted an early college program. One student from each county and four Upward Bound students were selected to participate in the program.  

“I had a great time meeting with high school students from across the state who were selected to participate in the inaugural William S. Cohen Early College Program at the University of Maine,” said Senator Collins.  “I talked about my own journey to the United States Senate and answered excellent questions from the students.  They had an exciting week and learned about leadership and public service.”

The William S. Cohen Institute for Leadership & Public Service models, promotes, and teaches leadership and public service. The students resided at the University of Maine for one week and participated in various leadership building activities and public service seminars.  The program is free for students.

Senator Collins is a strong supporter of programs that prepare students for higher education, such as the federal TRIO programs.  As co-chair of the Congressional TRIO Caucus, Senators Collins and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) introduced the Educational Opportunity and Success Act last month, which would reauthorize TRIO programs through 2025 and would make key reforms to make it easier to enroll students in the TRIO programs.

Senator Collins’ first job after college was working for then-Representative and later Senator Bill Cohen.